The college men’s rugby players emerged victorious from a hard-fought final for the Cuppers Plate. The joint Selwyn-Peterhouse team beat Hughes Hall-St Edmund’s by just two points, in a match that ended 30-28. Our photos show action from the game; the excellent support from Selwyn students; and the silverware being held by captain Matt Wilson (seated front right) with the rest of the team.
Photographs by Ted Mackey, JCR president.
Selwyn third-year student Lee Robertson has received an Imber Lloyd award at the Tallow Chandlers’ educational lunch. It recognises Lee’s contribution to Selwyn as JCR president in 2016; and the award is presented annually by the livery company to students who combine academic achievement and service to the college community.
This year’s other winner was Felix Newman, who was the first Selwynite in a winning Boat Race crew since 1971. He was also awarded first class honours in his engineering exams. Many congratulations to both Felix and Lee.
The full list of grants and prizes available to Selwyn students is on our website at http://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/ughandbook/finance/grants-and-funds/ and https://www.sel.cam.ac.uk/ughandbook/finance/grants-and-funds.
Chloe Allison, who's currently studying for an MPhil at Selwyn, has been awarded a highly prestigious Vice-Chancellor's & Selwyn College scholarship for a PhD in Music. The Vice-Chancellor's scholarships go to the most promising PhD students across the university. Selwyn has partnered with the Vice-Chancellor’s Scholarships for the first time this year and we are thrilled to be able to welcome Chloe back next year for her PhD.
Joining Chloe, and the recipient of our second Vice-Chancellor’s and Selwyn College scholarship, is Áron Kovács for a PhD in Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics. Many congratulations to him, too.
Meanwhile, Gates Cambridge has announced its list of what they call "the most academically exceptional and socially committed people from across the globe" who have been selected as Gates Cambridge Scholars after interviews in Cambridge in late March. Those chosen include Parker Lawson, who joined us from the United States in October 2016 to read for a Masters and is vice-president of our MCR.
Parker tells us: "The PhD proposal is to study the practice and policies of education in Spain (1898-present) as a way of understanding the relationship between education and the formation of national identities."
He will be joined at Selwyn by other Gates scholars from universities worldwide, with the full list of Cambridge participants here: https://www.gatescambridge.org/our-scholars/new-scholars
The college held a reunion for the 1967 and 1977 year groups on Saturday April 8th, marking the 50th and 40th anniversaries of their arrival at the college. Among those attending was Richard Budgett (SE 1977) who won a gold medal for rowing in the men's coxed fours at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. Richard studied medicine at Selwyn, and he is now Medical and Scientific director for the International Olympic Committee.
It was a glorious weekend of weather for all those attending the reunion. We were able to hold drinks outside in Old Court before the dinner; and the following morning a group of alumni went on a tour of the college with Fellow Mike Young.
Selwyn's Honorary Fellow, Robert Cripps, hosted a reception for college alumni and friends in Melbourne attended by the Master, Roger Mosey. The event, part of the college's reunion tour of Australia and Hong Kong, was also an opportunity to thank the Cripps Foundation for their generous support of the refurbishment of Cripps Court. The Foundation has contributed over £7m towards the £13m cost; and it was Robert's father Sir Humphrey Cripps who was the benefactor at the time of the building's original construction.
Robert Cripps (centre) is pictured with his wife Jan and with Roger Mosey.
Other photos from Melbourne:
Roger Mosey then went on to Sydney to meet alumni there. They include Joanna Davison (second from left) who was the first woman president of the JCR.
Earlier in the trip, the first stop had been Hong Kong where another reception was generously hosted by an Honorary Fellow - our alumnus Sir David Li. Below is a group of those who attended, along with college development director Mike Nicholson (second from right.)
We’re pleased to announce that this year’s Ramsay Murray lecture at Selwyn will be given by the historian Professor Amanda Vickery. Her title will be ‘No Happy Ending? At Home with Miss Bates in Georgian England’ and it will bring to life England in the time of Jane Austen.
Amanda Vickery is professor in early modern history at Queen Mary University of London, and she is also known for her television and radio work. On her website she describes her background: “I was born and raised in Preston, Lancashire. Growing up in a matriarchal mill town where wives historically worked out of the house as well as in, fostered my love of social and economic history, and fascination with the warp and woof of work and family, power and emotion.”
The lecture will take place at the West Road Concert Hall on Friday May 19th and all are welcome.
Photo credit: Andrew Hayes Watkins
It’s the end of the season for many university-wide sports – and Selwyn has had some notable successes.
Our women’s football team, which includes players from Selwyn and Robinson colleges, finished top of division one after a tough 2-1 victory over Pembroke in their final match. Our senior tutor, Mike Sewell, offers this brief match report:
“The win was built on the footballing virtues of a solid and well organised back five, a dominant midfield and ability on the counter attack, and the stronger determination to succeed. After a tense first half hour ‘Selwynson’ made a period of pressure pay through a well worked move that ended with a powerful shot from woman of the match Bays-Muchmore.
"A dominant start to the second half saw the second goal come from a well struck penalty by the same player after the pressure had told on Pembroke's defenders and led to a handball during a goalmouth scramble. Pembroke came back into the game and scored a fortunate goal after a harsh award of a free kick near the edge of the penalty area. After that one could only admire the game management of the winners as they saw out a tense few minutes, well marshalled by their captain and impressive centre half Emma Altman-Richer, to obtain a deserved triumph."
At the same time as the women were winning the league, our men’s team won the Cuppers Plate. It was the second time in three seasons that they’d won this silverware, and it came through a 1-0 victory over Robinson. The goalscorer was second-year MML undergraduate Tom Higgins Toon.
Meanwhile, there’s been a transformation in our women’s badminton team – which has progressed from being in the bottom division 2 years ago to now being “one of the best teams in Cambridge” according to a rival captain. As proof of this, our women made the final of Cuppers where they were narrowly beaten by Jesus College – but deserve much credit as tournament runners-up.
Congratulations to all these teams.
The college is entering a particularly busy period of events for alumni and friends, which will include reunions in Cambridge and the North of England – but also in New York, Hong Kong and Australia.
Later this month, Roger Mosey (Master) and Mike Nicholson (development director) will be attending a reception in Hong Kong – kindly hosted by our alumnus Sir David Li. They then go on to Melbourne for a similar event laid on by another honorary Fellow, Robert Cripps. The college is also working with Cambridge in America on an event in New York City to mark the colleges that are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the admission of women.
Back home and into April, there’s a year-group reunion at Selwyn for those who matriculated in 1967 and 1977. And at the end of the month, we’re hosting a reception for alumni and friends from across northern England – which will take place in Salford’s MediaCityUK (pictured) and will include a chance to tour the BBC studios there.
Full details of these events and more, and details of how to book a place, can be found on our alumni events page: https://www.selwynalumni.com/eventscalendar
Some of the college’s students have been capturing the beauties of Selwyn in a series of photographs that are proving to be very popular. They have been viewed and ‘liked’ tens of thousands of times on our social media platforms, and they offer some different perspectives on familiar scenes.
Our homepage photo, also below, was taken by third-year engineering student Laurence Moscrop in the early hours of Sunday February 19th. He explained on Facebook how the image of the chapel and the stars was captured:
“A few people have been asking me how I took the photo, so here is the procedure. Camera settings: aperture f/2.8, ISO 200, 30s exposure time. Set camera to take photos continuously for however long (e.g. 1 hour) on a tripod, then superimpose all the images on a computer and correct the colours.”
Laurence was also responsible for a lovely shot of the rooftops of the college as the sun was setting on a February evening. It was taken from the top of F staircase.
Meanwhile, Andrew Robertson - a 2nd year veterinary student - submitted a view of the front of the college in Grange Road as the Spring flowers were emerging; and a less conventional image of Old Court by night, taken from ground level.
Selwyn alumna Jessi Baker has been featured as a digital disruptor by the BBC. Jessi, who studied manufacturing engineering at the college, has set up a company – Provenance – that helps consumers identify precisely where their food comes from. It is now operating in four countries, and has signed up the Co-op in the UK as a commercial partner.
"The ultimate goal of Provenance is that one day it will be impossible to buy a product that compromises your health and morals”, she says. “Businesses that have very opaque supply chains and are not taking active steps to make them transparent should really fear us… We are disruptive and we're trying to disrupt the industry for good."
Watch the BBC’s report, and read more, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38773878
